Crane



NOV. 2 5, 1930; I P|ERE Re. 17,886

CRANE- Original'Filed Feb. 18, 1926 These lea Reissued Nov. 25, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEON PIERCE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO PIERCE STEEL .PILE CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK- GRAN E Original No. 1 31 3308, dated January 4, 1927, Serial No. 89,034, filed February 18, 1926. reissue filed May 5, 1923. Serial no. 275,532.

The main object of thisinvention is to provide an improvement to a crane. The improvement relates to leads which are secured at their u per ends to the boomof the crane. are used for guiding piles which are to be sunken into the ground in laying foundations. Heretofore it was necessary to detach the leads from the boom when using the crane as a hoisting apparatus. It is the 10 purpose of this invention'to provide a form of connection between the leads and boom, whereby the leads maybe rotated to any desirable angle Without disturbing the boom and at. the'same time permit said leads to be swun to a position in which they will not inter ere with'use of the boom as a hoisting member. Leads, which are adjustably attached to the boom as they are illustrated in this invention, serve an additional valuable 1:2; purpose. When attached to the boom of the crane and suspended in vertical positionresting on the ground, they serve as a brace for counterbalancing the weight of the boom on the crane. 'VVhen the boom is inclined to a 33 45 degree angle,said boom has the tendency,

especially during hoistingarticles, to upset the crane. By supporting the tip or outer extreme projecting end of'theboom from below, this upsetting tendency is eliminated,

so and in this invention is accomplished by the attached leads.

The above and other objects Wlll become apparent in the description below, in which characters vof reference refer to' like-named :13 parts in the drawing.

' Referringbriefly to the drawing:

Figure 1 :is a perspective view, showing a crane with-leads in applied position. Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the connection usedbetweenthe leads and boom.

under-carriage on which a platform 11 is Application for boom is suspended inangular position from adjustable guy ropes 17 which are trained about-pulleys 18 on the roof of the housing structure and on the boom. The invention is primarily adapted to be used in guiding piles of relatively large diameter into a position where they will be urged vertically into the ground. These piles, one of which is indicated .in Figure 1, by the numeral 19, are guided-between a palr of'leads 20 and 21. These leadsare suspended from a connection which is attachedtothe iextremevupper end of the angularboom and serves adouble. ur-

pose of guiding a steanihammer 22 an the pile 19 which is to be embedded in the soil.

Near the lower ends of the leads, the latter may be joined by a detachable connecting beam 23, and the steam hammer guided between these leads is supplied by .a hose-line 24 with actuating steam generated in .the house structure.

The connection which suspendsthe upper end of the leads from the boom comprises an inverted U-shaped element consisting of downwardly extending arms 25 and 26 which are joined by a cross brace 27, the latter being integral Withthe arms. A relatively largegopening is formedin the cross brace 3' 27 andis adaptedto loosely receive a bolt 29 having ahead 30 at its lower end. Thehead 30 of thebolt supports a block 31-.having a hemi-spherical surface on its upper side, the hemi-spherical surface being adapted to have the cross brace 27 rest thereon, as illustrated in Figure 2. The opposite end of the bolt 29 is threaded and receives a nut 32 secured against rotation by a cotter pin 33, the latter passing thru the bolt 29. The nut 32 is mounted onthe bight 34 of a U- shaped cradle 35. Said'cradle has a pair of parallel arms extendingupwardly from the bight 34 and thru these arms a bolt 36 passes. This bolt passesthru one arm, then thrn openings provided near the upper ends of the beams 15 and 16, forming the boom of the crane and then passes thru the remaining arm of thecradle when fixing the lead connection to the boom of the crane. 7 Below the position where the U-shaped' cradle is attached to the boom, a sheave wheel 37- is rotatably mounted between the beams 15 and 16 of the boom. This sheave wheel has a cable 38fpassing around it, one

end of which is detachably secured to the steam hammer 32}while the other end is 'attached to the crane operating mechanism and is used for purposes of lifting and lowering articles'from the boom or lifting and lowering the steam hammer or the piles 19, any one of which must be: done at different .times with this arrangement.

This invention aims to produce animprovement which increases the utility of the to varycrane and permits its adaptabilitly ki n sin ng ingj conditions of engineering.

foundations, the prevailin method is to sink piles intothe subsoil for fortyfeet or more. Thefmost desirable position of these piles '19 is a true vertical one,and in order to sink the piles in true vertical position, guides 1 use the crane for lifting purposes.

mode of operation is now eliminated as the are necessary; This is accomplished by pro- 'viding leads such as 20 or 21 which are suspended from the end of the boom, and as 1 before noted, hang in vertical position and rest on the ground. Hereto'fore, theseleads have been suspended from the rigidconnec tion which would not permit the leads to be swung in azimuth nor to emit the leads to be swung out of the way w nthey are not required. Instead, it had been necessary to lower the boom, detach the leadsj..from the rigid connection-which suspended the leads from the boom, lay the leads aside and then This leads may remain permanently suspended from the crane boom and at the'same time be swung to a position parallel to the boom where the will not interfere with the movement of t e lifting cable 38 which can perform its full duty without any interference- By providor obstruction from the leads. ing the swivelijoint'between the rigid cradle 35 and the U-shaped frame suspended, from the cradle, a connection is had whichpermits the frame to be rotated about the bolt 29 as an axis, and as the frame, consisting of members 25, 26 and 27, is supported upon the hemi-spherical surface of the block 31, the leads may be tilted from the suspended position to a position in which they extend parallel to the beams 15 and 16 and anchored in such position without said leads becoming an obstruction to the use of the lifting cable 38, which passes around the sheave wheel 37. The boom, as heretofore described, is rigidly supported by the leads when they rest solidly upon the ground and prevent tilting of the entire crane by such bracing, as the latter forms a secure support upon which the projecting? end of'the crane rests when said boom is used as a hoisting apparatus.

Furthermore, it is frequently necessary to drive a pile in a ditch orin ground which is below the level of that on which the crane stands; Under such conditions the boom may be lowered until the lowerends. of the leads, rest on the low ground. and stand vertically, in which position they will hold the pile and at the" same time support the outer end ofthe boom, preventing tilting of the crane. Conditions-of this kind are frequently met with where the boom has to be lowered toan angle of 30 with'the horizontal in order that the leads'niay rest on the ground in vertical position.

Having thus described the invention, what i is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent I 1. In a crane, a boom, leads suspended from said boom, connecting means between said boom and leads permitting rotation of said leads and swinging of the same into a position parallel with the boom, said connecting means comprising a cradle pivoted to and suspended beneath said boom and an inverted U-shaped frame suspended beneath and rotatable relative to said cradle, a bolt connecting said frame and cradle, said frame having an opening permitting passage of said bolt, said opening being larger than said bolt, a block having a hemispherical upper surface mounted onsaid bolt and upon which said frame is adaptedv tO I'BSt to permit movement of the frame in all directions and leads rigidlyconnectedto the downwardly projecting arms of said frame, said leads being adapte to rest on the ground and to have their free ends located at variouspositions withinthe radius of the swing of said boom, substantially described.

g 2. Ina crane, a boom ,pivotally supported at its inner end, leads suspended from the outerend of said boom, a sheave wheelrotatably mounted in said boom adjacent the point of suspension of-said leads, a connection between said leads and boom permitting swinging of said leads from a vertical position to a'position parallelwith said boom, said. connection comprising a cradle pivotally suspended beneath said boom, said leads being suspended from said cradl d f 131) support for the outer end of said boom, means to swing into a vertical position regardless of the position of the boom, said leads being fixed against longitudinal movement thereof relative to the cradle, means for raising and .-i 5 lowering the outer end of said boom, whereby the leads may be let down in vertical position in contact with the ground and serve as a carried by said leads for driving a pile and a cable passing over said sheave and connected to said driving means.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

LEON PIERCE. 

